“Greenwashing is not a recent phenomenon; since the mid-1980s the term has gained broad recognition and acceptance to describe the practice of making unwarranted or overblown claims of sustainability or environmental friendliness in an attempt to gain market share.” TerraChoice, now part of Underwriters Laboratories (UL) a standards setting and testing company, concluded that 98% of the products on U.S. supermarket shelves and 10% of all advertisements are guilty of greenwashing and the problem is escalating.

According to Scott Case, VP at TerraChoice, there are more than 500 green labels in the United States, and some are “significantly more meaningful” than others. “I testified before Congress last summer and I pointed out a certain lawyer in Florida who set up a website and is ‘certifying’ products. He doesn’t need to see the product, he doesn’t need test results. He just needs to see your credit card number,” Case says.